Certamen
by karasumana
Summary: Himeko is excited to visit Doissetep for the first time, but a bit over-enthusiastic in her defense of other members of her House. She lands a certamen challenge from an angry master. Oops? (PG-13 for some bad language.)


Himeko regarded the boy before her with a disdainful sneer. She couldn't quite justify taking this as an insult; if the Fraternal Order of Bonisagus had desired to slight her, they would have given her some stupid grog as a guide, not the apprentice of one of their four masters.  
  
Nevertheless, Himeko reflected sourly, she might prefer a consor to this sniveling child. He couldn't even look her in the eye; when he had been introduced to her as Cadwalader Jones, apprentice of Tyler _bani_ Bonisagus, one terrified glance had stained his face crimson, and his muddy eyes had darted down to the floor.  
  
Cadwalader was more than half a foot taller than she was, but he couldn't have weighed an ounce more; he was scrawny and gangly, with trembling legs and arms that seemed to be constantly in his way. His face, red and splotchy with acne, was half hidden by unkempt hair of an indeterminant shade, and the brief glimpse Himeko had caught of it had revealed an expression of sheer terror.  
  
Despite his misgivings, Himeko had tried to speak politely to him, but that ridiculous shyness had overcome. Cadwalader had reddened further and squeaked out a few stammered, unintelligible words in reply. Subsequent attempts at conversation had not ameliorated the situation at all, and her demeanor had devolved into irate scowls and harsh tones. He now responded to her curtly barked instructions with pathetic whimpers of unwilling acquiescense.  
  
Her gaze must have grown unnerving; the boy was beginning to figet, obviously uncomfortable. Freshly annoyed by his timidity, she narrowed her gray eyes into a glare and kept them on him until he began to edge away. Himeko sighed in disgust. "Let's get going," she snapped.   
  
Cadwalader winced and recoiled a bit, and she felt a small pang of remorse. He couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen, and he probably regarded her as an intimidating adult, not as a peer. She continued more neutrally. "I want to pay a visit to a friend who's staying with Brutus _bani_ Tytalus. I'm sure you know the way."  
  
She broke off, surprised, as Cadwalader suddenly looked up at her. His eyes were wide, flashing white, and his face pale. "B-b-but..." he interrupted with obvious effort, "h-h-he's a T-T-Tytalan!"  
  
Himeko stared at him, mystified, clearly expecting an elaboration. When he merely lapsed into quivering silence, she was barely able to suppress a glower. "I'm quite aware of that," she replied in measured tones. "Klark, my friend, is a Tytalan, as well."  
  
She hadn't expected him to deliberately speak to her twice in the same five minutes, but Cadwalader persisted. "B-b-but...we c-can't go over there!" The frightened wail in his voice broke her resolve; she turned on him her most venomous glare. Cadwalader burst into tears, but perservered through intermittent sniffles. "Th-they don't like B-B-Bonisagi. They m-m-make f-fun of us!"  
  
Himeko shook her head and replied through gritted teeth. "Enough. We're going, and I don't want to hear any more of your idiotic cowardice."  
  
Cadwalader gulped back one final sob and, evidently more terrified of Himeko than he was of House Tytalus, started off ahead of her. Himeko followed him, fuming silently, through the ornate double doors that marked the boundary of the Bonisagus portion of Doissetep. She knew that there were political rivalries among the Hermetic Houses in this chantry, and even that the Bonisagi and the Tytalans didn't get along, but this was unbelievable. She was almost in awe of the extent to which this boy's craven cowardice permeated his entire demeanor. Cadwalader moved slowly, slinking warily down the hall with his face aimed at the floor and his skinny shoulder hunched forward anxiously.  
  
This was ridiculous! Himeko's eyes burned through him, venting her fury on the back of his head. She was fully aware of how they looked to the people they passed, and the image was ludicrous: a short, slim, elaborately-garbed woman stalking angrily after this beanpole of an Hermetic, prodding him occasionally to keep his halting pace up to her speed. Her own face was grim, her jaw clenched, and her flashing eyes dared anyone to comment.

Cadwalader slowed as they approached another set of double doors, identical to the exit to the Bonisagus portion but hung in red instead of silver. Himeko felt a few pairs of eyes fly to her as she half-shoved Cadwalader through the archway, but she refused to return their gazes; she knew that they were laughing at her, but she would _not_ give them the satisfaction of seeing her squirm.  
  
The antechamber was silent for a moment; the half dozen mages and consors were raking her over with their eyes, comparing her composed, porcelain features to the mottled mess of Cadwalader's tear-streaked face. Out of the corner of her eye, Himeko caught a glimpse of an impertinent grin from a man leaning in a doorway.  
  
She bit back her anger at his rude leer and turned to face him. He looked to be a few years older than she, and he wore the robes of an adept. His eyebrows rose as she met his eyes, and his grin curled into a sneer. "Did you want something, dear?" he asked condescendingly.  
  
Himeko kept her gaze steady and unflinching as she spoke. "I'm here to speak with Brutus _bani_ Tytalus. I have business with him," she replied coldly.  
  
His brow lifted further, and he paused deliberately, allowing his eyes to lazily travel from her face to the rest of her body. His gaze lingered on the curve of her breasts as he answered. "Business?" His tone was conspicuously innocent, and all the more suggestive for its innocuous tone. Himeko could not keep her face from coloring as titters from behind her reached her ears.  
  
She had barely begun to frame an enraged retort when she heard Cadwalader emit a terrified squeal from across the room. She looked over her shoulder to see a heavy, wooden door swing closed behind a large man in heavy, velvet rainment. Like Brutus, he was solidly built, but his body was slowly going to fat. Dark eyes glittered cruelly from his ruddy face. His hair, iced with silver, shone like a crown, but his face, though haughty and regal, betrayed decadence in sagging jowls and gorged veins.  
  
He was just removing an appreciative glance from her behind when she turned. He took no further notice of her, and was now smiling the sharp-toothed grin of an animal that had cornered his prey. His eyes, hawklike, were on Cadwalader.  
  
He slithered slowly forward, and his velvet robes rippled and shone menacingly. Cadwalader stumbled back instinctively, and it was obvious that the magus had won.  
  
His smile widened into a sneer full of contempt as he spoke. "Are you lost, Runt?" he jeered, relishing Cadwalader's fearful trembling. He pressed forward, gradually edging Cadwalader into a wall. "Aren't you even capable of finding your own quarters, you stupid, little imbecile?"  
  
Himeko flew across the room before she was aware of what she was doing, and stepped bodily between the monster and his prey. Her eyes shone furiously in a face white with rage. "You can't talk to people like that!" she burst out. "How dare you treat him that way? Who the hell do you think you are?"  
  
The magus had looked surprised by her intrusion at first, but his face had reddened during her short tirade, and his eyes bulged with disbelief at the audacity of her angry demands. "I am Polonius _bani_ Tytalus," he replied icily, drawing himself up to his full height. "Master of the greater and lesser elements of _ars essentiae_."  
  
Cold fingers of warning lanced through her indignant furor, grappling with her sharp tongue, but were quickly defeated by her temper. "And you think that being a master excuses you from the rules of common decency?" she snapped. "Your behaviour is simply appalling, and--"  
  
"Excuse me," he interruped, his voice dripping with disdain and also with something more dangerous. "Who did you say you were? I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced."  
  
He was hunting her, now, stalking her with the frozen tones of his questions. She swallowed, unwillingly cowed; she was quarreling with a master. "I am Himeko _bani_ Bonisagus," she replied, trying to inject defiance into her words. "I've recently come from Earthside."  
  
Polonius smiled thinly. "I beg your pardon," he continued in polite cadences. "I hadn't realized that the Fraternal Order was importing whores."  
  
Himeko drew a quick breath of surprise, as if she had been slapped in the face. Crimson rage bloomed in her face as snickers from the onlookers told her that everyone was listening. "And _I_ hadn't realized that the Tytalans were harboring dickless assholes," she spat.  
  
The snickering was now a mixture of disbelieving scoffs and open chortling. Polonius' face was purple with fury. "You need a lesson in manners, you little bitch," he retorted softly, stepping closer to her.  
  
She stood her ground, anger fueling her courage. "Mine aren't the manners that are wanting," she snapped back. "But I'd be more than happy to accomodate you."  
  
Himeko felt quivering fingers plucking at her sleeve. "H-H-Himeko," Cadwalader whined softly, "h-h-he's a m-m-master! L-l-let's g-go..."  
  
"Yes," Polonius interrupted snidely. "Listen to the Runt. You Bonisagi are nothing but cowardly children."  
  
"I'm no coward," Himeko shot back, shaking Cadwalader's hand from her arm. "And _I'm_ not the one who picks on terrified apprentices half my size to compensate for my lack of manliness, either."  
  
Polonius' eyes narrowed as he glared at her. "Then prove it," he hissed. "Be at the west _certamen_ circle in two hours."  
  
Certamen? Oh, this was going to end well. "I'll be there," she retorted. "Be sure you bring your lesson in manners--you're in sore need of it."  
  
This time, Polonius joined in the laughter. Triumph gleamed in his posture and in his sneer; he clearly anticipated complete victory. Himeko turned haughtily, silently praying that Cadwalader wouldn't embarrass her on their way out of the room, and stalked off.


End file.
